Some awkward speed bumps are getting in the way of President Obama and other Democrats’ rush to vilify Republicans in the debate over Syrian refugees.

The president is plainly eager to get past his woeful “we have the right strategy” remarks Monday, as well as his pre-Paris boast that ISIS has been “contained.”

But opting to mock Republicans as “scared of widows and orphans” is a weak escape. Top Democrats also want to go slow — even call a temporary halt — on the influx of Syrian refugees.

New York’s Sen. Chuck Schumer was one of the first to suggest “a pause may be necessary.” When Schumer is on the same page as House Speaker Paul Ryan, that’s not Republican extremism — it’s bipartisan consensus.

And Schumer’s not remotely alone in his party here. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said flatly, “We need to be very careful about Syrian refugee admissions.” And: “Keeping our borders secure” from ISIS terrorists “must be our No. 1 priority.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote Obama, asking for a stop to admissions unless Washington “can guarantee with 100 percent assurance they are not connected” to ISIS.
Gov. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) demands the asylum program be paused until the feds “ensure robust refugee screening.”

The worry is obvious: As Obama himself said just the other day, it takes but “a handful of people . . . who are willing to die” to “kill a lot of people.”

Nor are the issues new. Notably, the discovery of two confessed al Qaeda terrorists living as refugees in Kentucky led in 2011 to a six-month halt in the processing of all Iraqi refugees — the same kind of pause now on the table.

This is not about a lack of compassion, nor about imposing a religious test. It’s about prudently keeping all Americans, refugees included, safe. Because, as Speaker Ryan rightly noted, “this is a moment when it’s better to be safe than sorry.”